If you’re a fan of powerhouses Jamie Foxx and John Boyega, then you’ve likely tuned into Netflix’s hit, “They Cloned Tyrone.” The film was a massive success on the streamer. It was the most-streamed movie on the app when it debuted at the end of July 2023. This film combines elements of blaxploitation and science-fiction to concoct a unique storyline that follows pimp Slick Charles, portrayed by Foxx. The cast also includes the sex worker Yo-Yo, played by Teyonah Parris. Boyega tackles the role of a street hustler known as Fontaine.
“They Cloned Tyrone” is the birth child of director Juel Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier. Originally introduced at the American Black Film Festival in June 2023, it earned a limited theater release just days before arriving on Netflix on July 21. The storyline takes viewers down a rabbit hole of conspiracy, where nothing is what it seems. Let’s take a look into this fun-filled rollercoaster. Be warned: spoilers lie ahead. Here’s “They Cloned Tyrone”’s ending explained.
What Is They Cloned Tyrone About?
“They Cloned Tyrone” centers around Fontaine, Slick Charles and Yo-Yo as they navigate street life in the primarily Black neighborhood of Glen. The rough community splits between heavy crime and working-class Black families trying to stay afloat. Slick Charles happens to be a customer of Fontaine, scoring drugs from him. However, after Slick pays the dealer one evening for his fix, another street runner named Issac guns down Fontaine.
Things take an unsuspecting turn when the morning after Fontaine’s “death,” Slick encounters him alive and well, requesting money for the already settled transaction. Obviously, seeing the impossible, it is Slick’s prostitute Yo-Yo who confirms that Fontaine indeed died the previous night, though he has no recollection of it. She makes a startling revelation: after Fontaine was shot, he was hauled off into a black SUV. That SUV later shows up at a house.
Searching for answers, the trio finds a mysterious elevator in the residence, which leads to an undercover lab. They soon discover that an operation involving cloning is taking place, though it’s much worse than they could ever suspect. Before leaving the research workspace, Slick snorts what he believes to be cocaine. However, it turns out to be a substance used in the experiment. Before fleeing the facility, the trio stumble across Fontaine’s lifeless body. This seemingly stands as proof of his murder and supposed ressurection.
What Is the White Substance?
Interestingly enough, the next morning, Fontaine, Yo-Yo, and Slick find that the laboratory’s door has vanished. Trying to dissect what they’ve witnessed, the trio head to a chicken joint, one of the many climactic scenes. While there, Slick soon realizes that the same white substance he snorted was injected into a chicken. Furthermore, the secret lab has also found a way to implement the powder into drinks and hair products. This powder makes everyone in the restaurant laugh, causing Slick to knock the food from the table and instruct Yo-Yo and Fontaine to stop eating. The trio learns that the conspicuous scientists are monitoring the Black resident’s behaviors while under the influence of the substance. They uncover this upon stumbling across another elevator inside a church altar.
Once back inside the lab, they find clones of many of the Black residents, including Slick. They are able to escape this terrifying facility through an attached nightclub, but not before the DJ, who is in on the experiment, hypnotizes the crowd with a song that demands they chase Yo-Yo, Slick, and Fontaine.
How Does the Movie End?
Now having confronted the scheme head-on, Slick, Yo-Yo, and Fontaine concoct a plan with others to raid the underground compound. However, they soon realize that there are thousands, if not millions, of clones of themselves and residents. Furthermore, they learn that the operation is nationwide, with doppelgängers across the nation. The mastermind of the terrifying operations turns out to be no other than an elder version of Fontaine. Thankfully, the real Fontaine was able to destroy the evil genius for good.
Yo-Yo, Slick, and Fontaine free countless clones from their sedates states, which gives them the idea to go find others. The three set out for Memphis, Tennessee, as actual investigators flock to Glen, thrusting the community into the spotlight as the media scurries to run stories about the cloning plot and how it went on for so long.
The “They Cloned Tyrone” Ending Explained
Just when the movie appears to be ending, with the titles rolling, it quickly cuts back to a scene showing what appears to be Fontaine. However, this individual is in the hood of Los Angeles. Also, a drug dealer, this obvious faraway clone of the film’s main character, known as Tyrone, goes through similar routines as the “Glen Fontaine.” While watching the news coverage about the Glen clone drama, his friends notice that he strongly favors Fontaine. The scene cuts again to a rendition of Erykah Badu’s “Tyrone,” with the lyrics, “Somebody cloned Tyrone.”
So what does all this mean? Aside from the final scene opening the door for a possible sequel that covers what life is like for Tyrone on the West Coast, it also seems to highlight a much deeper issue in underprivileged neighborhoods. The ending seems to offer a glimpse into how people in poverty-stricken areas of America all lead strikingly similar lives, no matter what the region.
